Hundreds of Entries Make WAG’s Flag Contest Huge Success

The Winnipeg Art Gallery’s WAG Your Flag for Canada art contest has drawn hundreds of entries from children all over Manitoba and the result is hanging on the outside wall of the WAG for the summer.

The contest asked young people age 18 and under to submit their artwork, primarily in red and inspired by Canada. The prize is a 3-day trip to Ottawa to visit the National Gallery of Canada and stay at the Chateau Laurier. The winner will be chosen in a random draw at the WAG’s O CanadART Open House on Sunday, June 20. All entries are included in a mosaic Canadian flag now hanging as a 40-foot banner on the outside wall of the WAG. Posters of the banner will be available at the open house.

The idea for the contest was inspired by the WAG’s all-Canadian summer exhibition line-up which includes Diana Thorneycroft: Canada, Myth and History, Group of Seven Awkward Moments Series; The Nude in Modern Canadian Art, 1920-1950; and Andrew Qappik: Pangnirtung Memories. In all, more than 50 Canadian artists are represented in these exhibitions and a contest and display of children’s art about Canada was a natural follow-through.

“It was so much fun for us to open the envelopes each day and check on the new entries,” says Debra Fehr, Communications and Marketing Manager. “A lot of the entries had very typical Canadian themes—hockey, beavers, Inukshuks and igloos, flags, RCMP, maple leaves and fir trees—but we also received space aliens, flowers and hearts, Roman gladiators, elephants. Some were covered with sparkles, others had cutouts, even Kleenex flowers. To see the inspiration and engagement of the children with the art was amazing!”

“We are absolutely thrilled with the level of participation,” says WAG Director Stephen Borys. “This has been a wonderful way for the WAG to reach out and be inclusive of young people right across the province. It was particularly interesting that so many teachers made class projects out of the contest. All the entries are delightful, funny, quirky, and, most importantly, speak to the children’s love of their country and their pride in being Canadian. We hope all our visitors this summer will take some time to stop and admire this most unusual banner.”